Coca farmers keep the road between Cucuta and Tibu blocked

Since Monday, April 11, the road that connects the municipality of Tibú, in Norte de Santander with the capital of that department, Cúcuta, has been blocked. The events occurred because of the demonstrations carried out by a group of peasants in that sector.

It all started after soldiers from the National Army arrived there to carry out efforts to eradicate crops, acts that the coca and poppy growers from the Nazareth and Guachiman villages did not like.

The events were recorded, specifically, in the sector that is popularly known as Llano Grande. In addition, after the blockades, the dialogues that the peasants had carried out with the Government and several representatives of the national government, such as the deputy ministers of the interior and justice, broke down.

The mood was raging when the villagers noticed the presence of the uniformed, so with rubble and the presence of several members of these communities, they blocked the tracks and caused several of the transporters to be unable to move in both directions of the road.

Several moments of the protests were evident on social networks. For example, it was possible to see banners with messages alluding to the situation, in rejection of the presence of the military and with requests to both the departmental and national governments to reactivate productive activities and not prevent them from planting the coca and poppy they use for a living in different products manufacturers.

“No more forced eradication is enough”, “yes to substitution, no to eradication”, “if the peasant cannot work, neither can Ecopetrol”, are some of the texts and harangues that were read and heard during this Monday's protest.

The events were so tense that the peasants even burned car tires and even punctured some of the tires of trucks and tractomules that tried to pass through the place to reach Catatumbo.

Now, several peasant leaders say that with the closure of the northSantanderean highway, a peasant strike would begin, which is part of the demands of the government of Iván Duque for not complying with what has been agreed for weeks.

The growers' requests are due to the fact that on 8 April they agreed with representatives of the national government that they would hold dialogues to restore illicit crop substitution, but in a gradual and concerted manner. However, they report that the national executive failed to comply with them.

So far, neither the national nor departmental authorities have commented on this matter and communications are expected from the official entities in order to avoid anomalies in the community, blockages of the road and the restoration of calm in that sector of Norte de Santander.

“What no ministry has ever given us, is given to us by coca. Coca gives us to eat, to get dressed, to pay for college for our children, for everything,” said Olger López, leader of the Association of Campesino Unity of Catatumbo (Asuncat).

It should be noted that the growers of both mentioned plants demand that the Duque government, and the governorates, not end the more than 42,000 hectares of coca and poppy crops with forced eradication, but to implement strategies that do not affect them.

The dialogues that took place between the peasants of the Association for Campesino Unity of Catatumbo (Asuncat) and the official entities were attended by the Deputy Ministers of the Interior; of Defence for Policies and International Affairs; of Participation and Equal Rights; the Director of Public Follow-up, of the Ministry of Defence; the Head of cabinet of the Ministry for Consolidation Stabilization, the manager of Sustainable Catatumbo, PNIS delegates, the Governor of Norte de Santander, Silvano Serrano and the mayors of the municipalities of Catatumbo.

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